City Image Analysis of Western Taipei Historic and Modern?
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International review for spatial planning and sustainable development, Vol.7 No.4 (2019), 18-36 ISSN: 2187-3666 (online) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14246/irspsd.7.4_18 Copyright@SPSD Press from 2010, SPSD Press, Kanazawa City Image Analysis of Western Taipei Historic and Modern? Liang-Gui Yu1* 1 Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, National Taiwan University * Corresponding Author, Email: [email protected] Received: February 15, 2018; Accepted: January 10, 2019 Key words: Iconology, City Image, Urban Regeneration Abstract: Taipei city is the capital of Taiwan, and the city government has applied to host several international events since 2000. Meanwhile, mayors have proposed the slogan “axis retroflexion” indicating the urban regeneration of old town areas. In July 2016, the city government and the National Geographic Channel started a documentary project “Inside: Reinventing Taipei” that cost 5 million NTD for the propaganda of the upcoming Taipei Universiade 2017. The narratives in the documentary indicate the interweaving of historical and modern city images. In this research, the development history of western Taipei is reviewed, and several official and non-official advertisements, movies, music videos, landscape architecture, events, and policy plans are chosen as texts to analyse the representation of the city images of western Taipei (Zhongzheng and Wanhua districts) under an iconological approach. To understand how those city images were produced, various aspects of urban politics and power are explored through this research. It is found that specific buildings and places, such as Chiang Kai- Shek Memorial Hall, the North Gate, the Red House Theatre, Longshan temple, and the Ximending shopping area, appeared in those texts frequently, epitomizing the development history of Western Taipei and policies across different periods. The historical, cultural images are represented as buildings, and trendy, energetic commercial images are presented in the official representation, while negative images, such as the ruined, the hopeless, and the order-less, are presented in the non-official representations. Furthermore, with the political intention of “change,” the new governance institution selectively represents some “negative” images that have been absent in previous official representations to emphasize the differences between the old and new governance institutions. Generally, the city images and representations of western Taipei manifest the issues of power and visibility clearly. 1. INTRODUCTION In the current era of globalization, cities adopt strategies of “differentiation” rather than those of “homogenization” in inter-city competition. Within this context, the development of city characteristics becomes important in issues about urban governance (Liu, C. Y., 2013). Many case studies in the UK and US have indicated that city image is important to urban branding and promotion (Bradley, Hall, & Harrison, 2002; Short et al., 1993; Paddison, 1993). Former industrial cities have struggled to get rid of the negative “legacy” of past industrial times, and have reconstructed new, positive images (Bradley, Hall, & Harrison, 2002; Short et al., 1993; Paddison, 1993). It is worth noting that in the research of Bradley, Hall, and Harrison 18 Yu 19 (2002), they have indicated that city image is an important factor for meeting organizers in the decision-making processes in place-making. It was indicated that a cultural turn in urban governance strategies based on the cultural images and characteristics of a city has occurred, and the cultural “soft power” has become an approach and a trend in urban development (Liu, C. Y., 2013). In the shaping of city image identification, Liu, C. Y. (2013) indicated four urban-cultural strategies were used to strengthen and transform the urban-cultural identities of citizens: strategic combination of urban cultural images, shaping of distinctive symbols, shaping of spectacles, and the selection of cultural values and ideologies. In contrast to those cases mentioned above, Athens, Florence, Paris and other historical cities showcase their histories through cultural heritage and humanistic values (Li, P. T. & Liu, 2013). In this research, the western districts (Zhongzheng and Wanhua) of Taipei city (Figure 1), the capital of Taiwan, are focused on. The western districts constitute the area with the longest history and the most profound cultural background in Taipei, and once became the economic centre (Chang & Wang, 2013). But the saturation of commercial spaces in the western districts in the 1970s triggered a shift of urban development to the eastern areas (Chang & Wang, 2013). Since the 1990s, the mayors of Taipei have proposed the slogan “axis retroflexion” indicating the urban regeneration and revival of the western old areas. In the meanwhile, the city government has applied to host several international events, such as the World Capital Forum (1998), Baseball World Cup (2001 and 2007), FIFA Futsal World Championship (2004), Summer Deaflympics (2009), International Flora Exposition (2010), International Design Alliance Congress (2011), World Design Capital (2016), and the 2017 Summer Universiade. In July 2016, the city government and the National Geographic Channel started a documentary project “Inside: Reinventing Taipei”1 that cost 5 million NTD for the propaganda of the upcoming Taipei Universiade 2017. The narratives in the documentary indicated the interweaving of the historic and modern city images of the west districts, which triggered the problems addressed in this research: What are the images of the west districts? How were those images produced? And how did they affect the development of western Taipei? In this research, iconology is chosen as an approach for analysing the images of western Taipei. According to the theory of Gottdiener and Lagopoulos (1993), people understand a city and form images through the observation of the icons of the environments and shapes in a city. Fuery and Fuery (2003) took the approach of Lacan’s psychoanalysis, indicating that visual media through televisions, advertisements, and flags represent the culture, and the relationships between cultural topics were formed through the observation. Mitchell (2013) has indicated that the ideology of icons reflects the symbolic representation systems of historical conditions dominated by specific classes, the values related to authenticity, and preference structure. Much research about city images has emphasized the importance of representation (Shields, 1996): De Certeau and Benjamin have indicated that representations blanket the city, change the way a city appears to us, and make the city available for analysis and interpretation; Simmel and Goffman considered the issues of visibility in representations; Habermas, Simmel and Sennet have indicated that the visible city in the public sphere dominates the invisible daily life in the private sphere. Those perspectives are concerned 1 Retrieved from https://youtu.be/gX2PdgY1yGY 20 IRSPSD International, Vol.7 No.4 (2019), 18-36 with the linkages among the visible things and what could be expressed through representations. In addition, the power and politics in those representations were also reiterated (Shields, 1996). Figure 1. Location of the case study (1: Wanhua District, 2: Zhongzheng District) 2. FROM THE OLD TAIPEI’S THREE MARKET TOWNS TO THE “GATE” OF MODERN TAIPEI 2.1 Taiwan under Qing Rule (18th Century-1895)2 Due to the slackened ban on maritime trade of the Qing state since the mid- 18th century, numerous immigrants from Quanzhou, Fujian migrated to Bangka, the former place name of Wanhua. Wanhua became a market town near Danshui River due to the development of international trade. In the mid- 19th century, immigrants from Sanyi launched a fight (Dingxiajiaopin) against other immigrants that resulted in the moving of Tongan immigrants to Dadaocheng. This is the context of how the Qing dynasty chose the land between Bangka and Dadaocheng to establish the Taipei prefecture walls after the Japanese invasion of Taiwan in 1874. After the construction of the prefecture walls and official buildings, Taipei became the political and cultural centre of Taiwan. 2.2 Taiwan under Japanese Rule (1895-1945) 3 Due to the defeat of the Qing dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese war in 1984, the sovereignty of Taiwan was ceded to Japan when the Treaty of 2 Refer to Su, S. B. (2010). Invisible and Visible Taipei. Taipei: Socio Publishers. Yu 21 Shimonoseki was signed the following year. The Japanese colonial government continued to construct Taipei as the political and economic centre of Taiwan and launched a series of modern urban planning and infrastructure construction projects. During the first 20 years, the former prefecture walls and the West Gate built by the Qing dynasty were demolished, except for four gates, and sewers and roads were constructed. In 1914, a project that filled and reclaimed land in the lowland area outside of the former West Gate was begun and resulted in the development of the commercial zone of Ximending. The outside area of the former Taipei prefecture walls was planned as the residential zone for the staff of the Office of the Governor-General. In the 1920s and 1930s, the construction and establishment of Xindian railroad branch line, Taihoku Imperial University, Showa Bridge, and Kawabata Bridge promoted the development of the southern areas. 2.3 Republic of China, Rule I: Post-war (1945-1989) In 1945, Taiwan was under the